Ephrata grad plays host to LPGA player

Ephrata High School graduate Kevin Weaver (left) and daughter Camille (far right) pose for a photo with house guest and LPGA pro Mi Hyang Lee during the U.S. Open in Lancaster.

While most of the players here to compete in the U.S. Open at Lancaster Country Club either rented houses or stayed in hotels while in town, a few chose to stay with host families for the week.

Kevin Weaver, a 1988 graduate of Ephrata High School, was fortunate enough to be host to South Korea’s Mi Hyang Lee at his home located in the Conestoga Valley School District.

It was an experience neither he nor his family will ever forget.

“It was just an awesome time,” he said Tuesday.

The whole thing came together rather quickly for the Weavers, who received an email June 29 from a Lancaster Country Club member seeking host families. With an in-laws quarters located at his house, they had the room so they decided to go for it.

Weaver emailed the player’s agent, got a return email some two hours later, and it was done.

“My wife’s parents stay in our in-laws quarters so we moved them into our house and (Lee) got the in-laws quarters,” Weaver said.

Lee, who would go on to finish even par for the four rounds to place in a tie for 14th overall in the championship, moved in Monday, July 6 and stayed through until the end of the championship on Sunday.

“It was an awesome experience,” Weaver said of hosting Lee. “How many times do you get a chance to hang out with someone from South Korea? We were at the kitchen table just kind of hanging out all of the time. It was pretty neat.”

In addition to Lee, her father stayed at the Weaver house one night while her coach crashed there from Tuesday through Saturday.

“Her coach is the head of golf at the University of South Carolina,” Weaver said. “He’s coached David Duval on his way up to number one…and on the way down from number one. We just heard tons of stories from him. He was a great guy to hang out with.”

In addition to providing shelter to their guests, the Weaver’s also served up meals each night. Each night, there were different faces at their table.

“(Lee’s) father was there for dinner half of the week, then we had stretch coaches in with us for dinner some nights, other caddies… it was fun,” Weaver said. “Also, two other sets of our friends had golfers staying with them so one night we got them all together for a picnic. We just hung out, which was pretty cool.”

Weaver said the neatest part of the whole experience was just being able to interact with Lee on a daily basis.

“I was very surprised by that,” he said. “I was hoping for a little bit (of interaction) for the kids, so that they could just kind of hang out with her, but I really was surprised. Her routine was she’d come home from practice or playing and she had a stretch coach come in for a half an hour and just stretch. Then, she’d shower and just hang out with us at the house until she went to bed. It was pretty neat.”

Weaver followed Lee on the course for every round, accompanied most of the time by his daughter, Camille. Following the tournament early Sunday evening, Lee invited the family back to the players’ area to say her thanks and good-byes before leaving to catch a flight in Philly.

“We talked for just a little bit because she had like a 9:10 p.m. flight,” Weaver said. “I don’t think she planned on finishing quite as high as she did so she left a little later than she thought. But she made her flight and texted us on the plane.”

“The whole week was just an incredible experience for us,” Weaver continued. “It was just awesome. It was way more work and interaction than we thought, but at the end of the day we would obviously do it all over again. It was an absolute blast.”